Social Skills & Work Skills: 5 Job-Killer Behaviors Your Students Should Avoid At Work

Recent reports claim that 4 in 5 students are not prepared for the workforce. This statistic really has us wondering if modern technology and social media is playing a role in any of this?

Recent reports claim that 4 in 5 students are not prepared for the workforce. This statistic really has us wondering if modern technology and social media is playing a role in any of this? Part of being successful in the workplace is being able to work as a team, this means that there is going to be a back and forth interaction amongst your students and their coworkers. And no, it’s not going to be through Snapchat or Facebook, it’s more than likely going to be a face-to-face interaction. In today’s generation, students are used to disclosing way too much of the wrong information via social media. This is causing students entering the work force to find it more and more difficult to distinguish between appropriate topics for small talk and serious disclosures.

This is especially true for workers with special needs who have a harder time developing their social skills. Social and work skills often go hand-in-hand and it’s important that anyone who is employed avoids making these common mistakes when talking to coworkers or bosses.

Below is a list of common mistakes (and not to mention job killers) that we should teach our students to avoid before they enter the workforce. Knowing the following items will help them survive their probation period and attain permanent status.

Saying They Hate Their Job

It’s very important that our students learn to refrain from telling their co-workers how much they hate their job. Doing so pegs workers as both negative and not a team player. Besides, no one wants to come into work and hear someone complain about how much he or she hates his or her job. Constant complainers are not only annoying, but bring around a lot of negativity. Not only that, but complainers are usually the ones who do not survive the first 90 days.

They Think Someone is Incompetent

While your students may find it annoying to work with incompetent people, the only people who should be able to bring up workplace incompetence’s are those who have the power to train or discipline employees; anyone else will simply make themselves look mean, insecure or both. Thus, causing co-workers to form negative opinions about them and ultimately causing coworkers to dislike working with him or her.

Revealing Too Much about Political or Religious Beliefs

Everyone has their own personal beliefs about politics and religion, but we need to teach our students that their personal beliefs should never be pushed too strongly on coworkers. It’s okay to voice one’s opinion every once in a while in private conversations with friends, but broadcasting beliefs or disagreeing with someone else’s views can quickly alter how co-workers feel about your student. Not only that, but it can also cause verbal conflicts or offend the people they work with.

Unless it’s somehow relevant to the task at hand, political and religious beliefs should be kept away from the workplace.

What They Do on Facebook

Facebook can reveal a lot about a person. Unfortunately, that’s not always a good thing. Employers often look at employees’ and applicants’ Facebook pages and they do not want to see any scandalous photos of their employees. Even tiny details like wearing something inappropriate or voicing opinions that go against what the company stands for, or a friend’s comment on their Facebook page can leave a bad impression.

It’s nearly impossible to fully censor any given Facebook page; there will eventually be something that someone finds objectionable.That said, it’s best for students to avoid this potential hazard by not sending friend requests or accept friend requests from coworkers and bosses.

Telling Offensive Jokes

Humor is subjective and what one person finds hilarious could come off as extremely offensive to someone else.

One of the attributes of the perfect employee is the ability to remain professional around everybody at work. It’s okay to be funny and joke with co-workers, but any joke that could offend someone should be avoided at all costs.

Workplace manners and conduct for special needs employees is often overlooked when it comes to special education. In the end, workplace success for special education students (and for everyone) is about behaving with professionalism and keeping work separate from one’s private life. This may be a little more difficult for some of our special education students, but with the right work skills and soft skills, they too can achieve workplace success. With the help of video modeling and humor, we can teach all students how to avoid these 5 things, and how to develop core social skills and work skills.

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At James Stanfield, We Think You Should Know:

Disclosing information is easy to do, but there are some things that are better left unsaid, especially in the workplace! That’s why we believe it is extremely important to learn the core skills related to work success. Our video modeling series, First Job Survival Skills, will teach your students the top 11 skills needed for the workplace, including soft skills, social skills, and work skills. Click here to find out more about First Job Survival Skills!